Friday, August 28, 2009

Tainui asset values trimmed by $51 million

Tainui leaders will tomorrow try to explain to their people how the tribe lost $51 million in the year to March.

The Waikato Tainui Te Kauhanganui tribal parliament is holding its annual meeting at Hopuhopu, followed by a hui for beneficiaries of the Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust.

As an organisation whose main business is property leasing and development, the financial crisis was sure to hit Tainui's balance sheet.

With work on its Hamilton subdivisions suspended until conditions improve, income from section sales dropped 85 percent, although the fortuitous timing of a rent review meant rental income jumped 15 percent.

The Waikato Raupatu Lands Trust and Group made a net after tax operating profit of $10 million, down from 15 million last year, but revaluation of its property and investment portfolio left a $51 million deficit, bringing total net assets down to $433 million.

Despite that, the amount paid out in marae, tertiary study and sports grants rose from $5.1 to $7.3 million.

The financial crunch means the executive, Te Arataura, has put development of a new tribal administrative centre on hold and also put off rebuilding te Kauhanganui's debating chamber at Hopuhopu.

The good news was the river settlement flowing onto the books, with the Waikato Raupatu River Trust showing $85 million in assets, including $20 million to prop up the Waikato Endowment College at Hopuhopu, $50 million for cultural and envoromental development projects connected with the river, and the balance to fund the tribe's co-management duties.

NEW LITERACY PROGRAMME FOR MANUREWA SCHOOLS

A grass roots literacy programme was launched at Manurewa Marae today to lift the reading skills of maori students in south Auckland.

Pita Sharples, the associate Minister of Education, says too many young Maori reach high school with substandard literacy.

He says Manurewa was chosen because 40 percent of the students are Maori.

“It's a very good area, a mixed population, and a large proportion Maori, so we’re doing it in over 20 primary schools, three intermediates three high schools, two kura and one wharekura, so it’s quite a comprehensive programme,” Dr Sharples says.

The programme involves professional development for teachers, strengthening reading recovery programmes, and appointing literacy development officers to work with schools.

GODS AND GODDESSES SEASONED TRAVELLERS WITH ARTIST

Nga Puhi artist Lisa Reihana says the ancestors featured in her works are becoming seasoned travellers.

Her Digital Marae goes in show in London next month as part of a group show called ethKnowcentrix.

It also features other Maori and Polynesian artists challenging ethnographic traditions, including Shigeyuki Kihara, George Nuku and Rosanna Raymond.

Reihana's images of Maori ancestral figures are currently in an exhibition in Panama, and some were shown in Cuba earlier in the year.

“They’re kind of getting out there. Even though they’re not currently on show in New Zealand, they’re kind of getting out there. So those gods and goddesses just get around the world.DUR: 22 secsTomorrow Lisa Reihana launches a book on the Digital Marae project at the McCahon House in Titirangi, where she is artist in residence.

The National Distribution Union is going out to its Maori and Pacific Island members to find out how the recession is affecting them.

UNION GAUGES EFFECT OF RECESSION ON MAORI MEMBERS

Syd Kepa, the union's apiha Maori, says the hui at Whaiora marae in Otara tomorrow is a chance for members to say what they need to get through tough times.

He says most of the lay-offs in manufacturing and service jobs have come from low income areas like south Auckland.

“In poor communities when someone gets made redundant, the first to people to feel it are the workers. When the economy lifts, the last people to feel it are the workers, if they ever do so that’s the kind of korero we’d like to have with the community here,” Mr Keepa says.

While his members are told times are tough, many of the companies they work for are still extracting substantial profits from their communities.

SHIPPING CRATE PRISONS WASTE OF RESOURCE

A prison reform advocate says the rather than building new prisons out of shipping containers, the government should do more to cut the number of prisoners.

New Zealand has the second highest rates of incarceration in the western world behind the United States, with Maori inmates making up around half the 8400 muster.

Elizabeth Gordon, an executive member of the Howard League for Penal Reform, says a new 60 bed prison wing at Rimutaka prison built from shipping containers shows the government is on the wrong track.

She says the $90,000 a year spent keeping someone in prison could be better spent in the community helping people keep out of jail.

MINING LIKELY ON LAND CLAIMED BY IWI

Green party co leader Metria Turei says Maori have a right to feel galled by government moves to open up the DOC estate to mining.

Energy minister Jerry Brownlee yesterday called for a report to identify potential sites where restrictions on prospecting can be lifted.

Ms Turei says DOC land has been a major issue in treaty settlement talks, with many iwi seeking co-management or the outright return of conservation land.

“It's really important too for our foreshore and seabed because some of these areas that are otherwise protected from mining are in the ocean and so we need to be really aware of protecting and having responsibility over those areas too,” Ms Turei says.

She says iwi want conservation land in their rohe kept in pristine condition, not degraded by mining efforts.

Apology due for Arawa hara

The Prime Minster is due at Owhata Marae on the shores of Lake Rotorua later this morning to deliver the official apology to Te Arawa for the Crown's historic breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Roger Pikia from settlement body Te Pumautanga O Te Arawa says the apology will mean a lot for elderly members of the tribe who have monitored the negotiations over decades.

He says the apology is an important part of the $43 million settlement and allows the iwi to concentrate on the future.

“I think it's an important factor. It’s not the sole thing iwi are looking for. How the Crown behaves going forward will be watched vigilantly by iwi as well to ensure the words expressed are not hollow words and there is genuine intent behind that apology so we are looking forward to the apology delivered by the prime minister,” Mr Pikia says.

MAORI ACCOUNTANTS LOOK AT CHANGING LANDSCAPE

Meanwhile, Maori accountants are gathering in Hamilton for their annual hui looking at changes in the Maori economic landscape.

He says there is considerable optimism among iwi as they see the settlement process accelerate, but there is also a realisation they need to gear up for more commercial activities and management of sizeable assets.

“There's a lot of work that needs to go on looking at how they manage what come back. We’re going to need a lot or resource and managers an d directors and right across the board,” Mr Wijohn says.

Less than 2 percent of chartered accountants are Maori, so there is a need to encourage rangatahi into the field.

BOOT CAMPS EXPECTING MORE RESOURCES

The director of a military style programme for wayward rangatahi has welcomed a government boost for the sector.

Prime Minister John Key and the social development Minister Paula Bennett have announced initiatives worth just under $85 million for young people getting in trouble with the law.

The bulk of the putea will be used on youth justice initiatives, including military style bootcamps for up to 90 rangatahi.

Steve Boxer from Male Youth New Direction of MYND says it will provide much needed support, as most programme providers are always underfunded.Steve Boxer says 40 percent of MYND's Auckland based clients are Maori.

CROWN PURCHASING ACTIVITIES A LINGERING SIN

Te Arawa will this morning hear Prime Minister John Key apologise on behalf of the Crown for more than a century of breaches of the Treaty of Waitangi.

Rawiri Te Whare, the chief executive of settlement body Te Pumautanga o te Arawa, says the ceremony at Owhata Marae marks the end of the claim process and the start of a new relationship with the Crown.

He says while elements of Te Arawa fought with the Crown during the land wars, it was not able to fend off the subsequent land grab.

“Considerable amounts of land was eventually taken from Te Arawa so it’s still the same grievance that a number of iwi have, the actions of the Native Land Court, the Crown purchasing systems have all contributed to the injustices, the hara done to Te Arawa,” Mr Te Whare says.

John Key and Treaty Negotiations Minister Chris Finlayson are expected at Owhata marae about 10 o'clock.

MASTER WAKA BUILDER SCOURING FOREST FOR DEAD KAURI

While most people in Taitokerau don't appreciate gale force winds, for Hekenukumai Busby they represent opportunity.

The Ngati Kahu rangatira is highly regarded throughout the Pacific for his knowledge of celestial navigation and waka building.

But he's run out of raw materials, so he's working with the Department of Conservation to identify windfallen kauri for use in waka restoration.

His restoration projects have included the Waitangi-based Ngatokimatawhaorua, which should be the centrepiece of next year's Waitangi Day regatta.

DIGITAL MARAE TURNED INTO BOOK FORM

First the marae went digital. Now it's become a book.

Ngapuhi artist Lisa Reihana's ongoing Digital Marae project has taken its latest twist with the launch in Auckland tomorrow of a book documenting her multimedia explorations of ancestors and gods.

The work was shortlisted for the Walters Prize earlier this year, and was also included in the New South Wales Art gallery's Anne Landa Award for video and new media.

Reihana says being able to see it on a smaller scale was a luxury she enjoyed sharing.

“It's really nice to see them all next to each other in a form that is accessible, Even for myself, because the works are so big and wrapped up and in storage, when they come out it’s like seeing them again, it’s like having your babies out on show, but in a book it’s something you can see and reference all the time,” Reihana says.

The next stop for Digital Marae is London, where Lisa Reihana features in a group show.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Venerable waka sought for celebration

Master waka builder Hekenukumai Busby wants to bring together three 70-year old waka for next year's Waitangi Day celebrations.

2010 is the year of the waka, and marks the 70th anniversary of the launch of the 30-metre Ngatokimatawhaorua, which is housed at Waitangi.

The renowned ocean voyager put the invitation to Tainui at last week's koroneihana hui at Turagawaewae.

“There's two waka that Princess Te Puea built the same year. Her aim was to build seven canoes but she managed to get three done and I’ve sort of invited them to bring their canoes up and celebrate their 70th anniversary as well at Waitangi next year,” Mr Busby says.

He is expecting up to 20 waka will be at Waitangi on the 6th of february.

COUNCIL SEAT BAR SOLD AS COMMUNITY DECISION-MAKING

The Prime Minister says National's preference is to let communities decide the level of Maori representation they want.

John Key says this week's cabinet decision to rule out Maori seats on the Auckland super city council was in effect a restatement of concerns in the party when the bill was introduced earlier this year.

He says it should be possible to put together a representative group of mana whenua, urban Maori and other stakeholders to work with the council.

“I acknowledge that for a lot of people it’s more an aspect of mana and they feel they should be at the table. That is still very much an option. The Local Government Act allows the council to make the decision without reference to the public to put in place Maori seats so maybe you will see a mayor and some councilors coming forward and say look ‘that’s what we want to do and that’s what we are going to do that if we become the mayor of Auckland,’” Mr Key says.

The ACT Party's strong stand against Maori seats was a factor in the decision, but not the dominant one.

JAHNKE ADDS STATIONS OF CROSS TO NEW CHURCH

Feilding's new Catholic church is blending Maori concepts with chistian motifs.

St Brigid's opened its doors this month, replacing the 80 year old Gothic-style Frederick de Jersey Clere church, which was pulled down a year ago because of its state of disrepair.

Kathleen Sheridan, the pastoral assistant, says the panels in the new church were designed by Ngati Porou artist Robert Jahnke.

They feature takitoru - common patterns seen in meeting houses around the country.

“Robert Jahnke uses the orientation of this motif as well as the shape of each cross to represent something of Christ in the state of mind of each station so it is very striking when you see them on the outside,” Ms Sheridan says.

The stained glass windows from the old church have been incorporated into new building.

NATIONAL PLAYING OFF THE VIOLIN SECTION

Waikato Hauraki MP Nanaia Mahuta says the Maori Party is playing second fiddle to ACT in the National led government.

Ms Mahuta says the government's denial of seats for Maori in the Auckland governance shake-up shows John Key is playing his coalition partners off against each other.

She says Maori are the losers.

“If they're gong to relegate Maori representation to an advisory capacity then we’ve really made no gain, and what we know is that by 2025 there will be a browning of the New Zealand population so National really hasn’t put that at the forefront of their decision-making either,” Ms Mahuta says.

National and the Maori Party had the numbers to add Maori seats to the Auckland Council.

MAORI COUNCIL ATTACKS SUPER CITY SHAMBLES

The New Zealand Maori Council is adding its voice to those attacking the government for ruling out Maori seats on the Auckland super city.

Spokesperson Jim Nicholls says it's time the Crown accepted the fact Maori have made a significant contribution to New Zealand's infrastructure.

“That they should set up a super city without Maori representation is not merely an insult, but it lacks any sensitivity at all in terms of the contribution that Maori have made t economy of this country and the contribution it will continue to make,” Mr Nicholls says.

Ella Henry, a senior lecturer at AUT's Te Ara Poutama school of Maori development, says from small beginnings a decade ago, the biennial event has become an important way to show young Maori the options open to them.

While it reflects the investment the Auckland University of Technology has made in Maori education, it's now a lot bigger.

“Even though AUT does host it, every major university in the country is represented there, we had Otago, Auckland University, Unitec so it is not about AUT saying ‘come to the Maori expo so you can come to AUT.’ It’s about ‘come to the Maori expo and find out what's right for you,’” Ms Henry says.

The stands have now been taken down and the Vector arena cleared for tonight's concert, featuring bands like Cornerstone Roots, Herbs, Che Fu and House of Shem.

Organise to win seats

National list MP Tau Henare is urging Maori to stand for seats on the new Auckland super city council.

While most of the submissions to Mr Henare's Auckland governance Maori subcommittee were in favour of dedicated Maori seats, Cabinet has rule out that possibility.

He says Maori can slope back to the pa, as a Ngati Whatua spokesperson has suggested, march up and down Queen St again with no hope of a result, or get organised.

“Take the opportunity now of getting a ticket together, talking to maybe some of the mayoral candidates, and really go to town in the next 18 months and organise so Maori do stand and are elected,” Mr Henare says.

He says based on his performance last election, Waipareira leader and former MP John Tamihere has a reasonable chance of winning a council seat or even the mayoralty.

MAORI SPEAKERS SOUGHT FOR ROLES

A new recruitment company sees a gap in the market for Maori expertise.Mana Recruitment director Brad Walker says many Maori job seekers have skills which haven't been recognised by other agencies.

He says many businesses in New Zealand require a good understanding of Maori culture and, increasingly, language skills.

“It is now becoming popular in some roels to have people with both English and te reo expertise and those are the roles we are looking at supporting. The same with some of the Pacific languages as well, we are starting to get those roles coming through too,” Mr Walker says.

The recession won't affect the company as Maori oriented roles were always in demand.

NGATI HAMUA OPENS MARAE IN BORDER ZONE

The people of Ngati Hamua have set aside a longstanding iwi dispute to celebrate the opening of their new marae at Pahiatua.

Rangitaane and Kahungunu have along argued over who holds sway a over the area, even though members in area share closely interlinked whakapapa.

At last month's opening, Ngati Hamua refused to align the mana of Te Kohanga Whakawhaiti o Te Iwi to either.

“People here are both but it’s really Rangitane whenua so we don’t mind, or I don’t mind, and the whanau’s coming round to that. This is where our marae is,” Mrs Tipene says.

Ngati Hamua started the marae project almost 30 years ago.

MAORI EXPO OFFERING CAREER DIRECTIONS

The doors have opened at the AUT Maori Expo at Aucklands' Vector Arena, with landlord and mana whenua iwi Ngati Whatua blessing the premises.

Event manager Renata Blair says thousands of people are expected through the stadium throughout the day to see the best of things Maori, hear debate on issues of the day see kapa haka and other entertainment.

He says more than 60 exhibitors have signed up for the Kia Tu Kia Maia; Seize the Day celebration, including universities and polytechnics and government, community and Maori organisations, all trying to open the eyes of rangatahi to what is possible, even in tough economic times.

“There's just so much more opportunities now with education and there’s not many jobs about so it’s a great time to start planning for your career,” Mr Blair says.

The event ends with Ngahau i te Po; Groove the Night, the first Aotearoa Maori music event to be held at Vector Arena.

MAORI COUNCIL KNOCKED BACK IN WATER BATTLE

The New Zealand Maori Council is vowing to keep fighting for Maori ownership of water despite the High Court refusing it leave to go to the Supreme Court over the issue.

Spokesperson Jim Nicholls says under the Treaty of Waitangi water is a taonga, but there is no requirement to give Maori applications priority when consents are allocated.

Publicly listed generator Trustpower and the attorney general, on behalf of the government, applied to have the case struck out.

Mr Nichols says that could have tipped the scales.

“Whether or not it was their influence that caused the High Court to make its decision I’m unsure but what I do know is the issue of water will be debated and the question of the termination and the influence of the Treaty of Waitangi on further decisions is imminent,” Mr Nicholls says.

The Council is considering an appeal.

RANGITANE CARVING GALLERY OPENS ITS DOORS

Twenty years of traditional carvings are going on show at a new gallery in Havelock.

Shark Nett Gallery founder Michael Bradley says they tell the story of Rangitane, the iwi he chaired until 1995.

Mr Bradley says most of the work was done by Ari Liddington, Paul Johnson and the late Karl MacDonald, who were his students on a course run by the top of the South Island iwi in the early 1990s.

“I've just been sponsoring these guys to carve, doing all our tupuna, carving some of our taniwha, our prominent people, just getting the boys to carve our history, because we didn’t have any. It had all been burnt or stolen by tribal invasion invasion down here,” Mr Bradley says.

He says there is little promotion of Maori culture in Te Tau Ihu, and he wants to address that imbalance.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Maori Expo moves to bigger venue

This biennial AUT Maori Expo has been moved to Auckland's Vector arena to cater for the expected crowds.

Organiser Renata Blair says the Aotea Centre is now too small for the festival, which celebrates Maori achievement in education, politics, sports and the arts.

The sponsor event tonight includes a fashion show, kapa haka and a performance by Nesian Mystik, and tomorrow the doors will be opened to the public.

More than 60 exhibitors are taking part, including universities, government and community organisations.

Mr Blair says it’s the first Maori event at Vector Stadium, which stands on and leased from Ngati Whatua.

The Kia Tu Kia Maia; Seize the Day event will close tomorrow night with a concert featuring an all-New Zealand line-up.

AUCKLAND SEAT DECISION REVEALS FLAW IN STRATEGY

Labour MP Shane Jones is predicting serious problems for the Maori Party in the wake of the government's decision to rule out Maori seats on Auckland super city council.

He says the Maori Party's response, including its hikoi, has been futile.

Mr Jones says it needs to explain why it refused to back the Royal Commission's recommendation for separate seats, which was the best weapon to advance the kaupapa.

“It just shows naivete. It’s all very well to jump around and have a flag blowing n the wind on the Harbour Bridge but no Maoris at the top table and that’s the riddle they have to explain to our people,” Mr Jones says.

He says talk of the Maori Party changing the political culture has proved a fantasy, and it's clear Rodney Hide represents the core values of the National Party, not Pita Sharples.

HANGI BEFORE HAGGIS FOR DUNEDIN VISITORS

Visitors to Dunedin want hangi, not haggis.

That's the suprise finding of a report commissioned by the Dunedin City Council.

It said more than a third of tourists visiting the city wanted more Maori cultural experiences including traditional kai, a Maori art centre and guides to the historical landscape.

Peter Harris, the council's economic development unit manager, said that could lead to job opportunities for Maori.

The council and Tourism Dunedin will work with Maori tourism operators and communities to address the demand.

HENARE PONDERS LESS AGGRO RESPONSE TO HIDE CARPING

Remorse but no apology from Tau Henare.

The chair of the Auckland governance select committee's Maori subcommittee says in retrospect he should have kept his mouth shut rather than call Rodney Hide a buffoon and a jerk-off.

Tension between the two flared after the leak of Mr Henare's email to caucus colleagues revealing the ACT leader's threat to quit as minister if Maori seats were included in the plan for New Zealand's largest city.

Mr Henare says that as a National list MP he needs to remind himself of his responsibilities to the party.

“The comments were made because Rodney accused me of leaking my own email. For one, I don’t know why I would do that. I might as well just front up to caucus and hang myself in front of them. So it was a reaction to that and maybe I just shouldn’t have reacted, that’s all. Maybe it’s a lesson I need to get my own aggro sort of under control,” Mr Henare says.

He says his caucus colleagues appreciated the email, which set out the arguments for Maori representation on the Auckland super city council.

NGATI WHATUA FEARS CITY PLAN PRELUDE TO COAST GRAB

Meanwhile, the chair of Te Runanga o Ngati Whatua runanga fears a proposed split of the northern part of Rodney from the Auckland super city is a prelude to large scale coastal development.

Naida Glavish says the plan pours salt into the wounds created by the refusal to have Maori seats on the super city council.

Prime Minister John Key is refusing to confirm that Cabinet decided on Monday to set the city's northern boundary at Waiwera.

Ms Glavish says the move would split Rodney District Council, with which Ngatui Whatua has an excellent relationship with, and affect both the Kaipara harbour and the Hauraki gulf.

“We're talking about splitting the rohe of Ngati Whatua and disregarding mana whenua to open the east coast and the west coast to property development one must think,” Ms Glavish says.

Details of the split are likely to remain under wraps until the Auckland governance select committee reports back to Parliament on September 4.

TUWHARETOA ELDER ARTHUR SMALLMAN DIES

Ngati Tuwharetoa buried one of its leaders today.

Arthur Te Takinga Smallman from Turangi was a member of the Tuwharetoa Maori Trust Board and a former former Taupo district councillor.

He also served on the Taupo/Tongariro Conservation Board.

In his working life, Mr Smallman was the first Maori senior traffic sergeant in New Zealand, heading the Porirua district.

Kaumatua Rangi Tamuutua says on his retirement back to the Taupo area, his friend became a tireless advocate for the needs of the iwi.

Stand firm on smacking says trust

Maori child advocacy group Te Kahui Mana Ririki is applauding the government's indication that it will not be changing the law in response to the referendum on smacking.

Chair Hone Kaa says the low turnout by Maori voters shows they are also happy with the law in its present form.

He says only a third of Maori voters took part in the referendum - 11.2 percent of those Maori voters voted yes to the question, "Should a smack as part of good parental correction be a criminal offence in New Zealand", and 88.8 percent voted no.

“The law has been working well. What do we need to change? We want the current law maintained, and we will continue to promote the anti-smoking message with our iwi,” Dr Kaa says.

He says Prime Minister John Key has maintained his position that the current law is working well and at this stage he has no intention of changing it.

SUPER CITY MAORI CONSULATION SHOW TO BE A SHAM

Labour leader Phil Goff says the government's consultation on the structure of Auckland Super City was obviously a sham.

Phil Goff says people will be angry that the government made the decision not to have Maori seats on the council before the select committee looking at the issue had reported back to parliament in two weeks.

He says people will also be angry that National was held to ransom by ACT leader Rodney Hide who currently has just one percent public support.

“He’s held the Government to ransom. John Key has been prepared to allow himself to be held to ransom and that doesn’t do anything at all about the relationship with the Maori Party, it doesn’t do anything for that positively. It was meant to be mana enhancing. Actually it’s a slap in the face,” Mr Goff says.

He says the system of Maori seats in central government works well stopping Maori from being disadvantaged through lack of representation and there is no reason why the same process should not happen at the local government level.

INSPIRING INDIGENOUS EVENT MANAGEMENT

Maori artists and musicians are inspiring the indigenous cultures of Northern Canada this week to take a leadership role in event management.

A group of Maori performers attended the Planet Indigenous festival in Toronto over the weekend, taking part alongside hula groups from Hawaii, Inuit circus performers, singers and other performers.

Wharehoka Wano, an event manager for Tihi Limited, says although impressed with the scale of funding and infrastructure available to other cultures, the Aotearoa group made an impression with the way they used traditional protocol in running an event.

MORGAN BITTER OVER SUPER CITY HIDING

ACT leader Rodney Hide is coming in for continued harsh criticism for his part in stopping Maori having seats on Auckland super city.

The royal commission on the super city recommended three Maori seats and Prime Minister John Key acknowledged that Mr Hide's threat to resign if this happened was a factor behind the decision not to follow the recommendation.

Labour leader Phil Goff says by threatening to throw his toys out of the cot Mr Hide held National and the country to ransom with just 1 percent public support for his party.

And mana whenua iwi Tainui's chairman Tuku Morgan says the epitaph Rodney Hide created with his threat to resign is total disregard for the cornerstones of Maori mana and sovereignty in New Zealand.

“These are people who don’t give a stuff about Maori aspirations, about Maori development in this country, nor the historic agreement hinged around the Treaty of Waitangi,” Mr Morgan says.

Ngati Whatua spokesperson Ngarimu Blair says middle New Zealanders have been lead to fear Maori representation by Rodney Hide and his far right ACT party when all Maori want to do is contribute.

ADAMS PIONEERED WANANGA TRAINING FOR KAUMATUA

Iwi and marae around the country have benefited from the pioneering work of Tutuatahi Tui Adams who died at the weekend.

Dr Adams, who is being laid to rest today, was instrumental in organising courses for kaumatua to prepare them for running the paepae.

Maania Clarke, who covers the Tainui rohe for Waatea News, says the idea originated with the Maori Queen and was picked up by Dr Adams.

The success of the programme was evident when elders rose to speak at the yearly Coronation events, and other iwi took note. Te Wananga o Aotearoa now runs similar programmes all around the country.

TAHURI SELECTED FOR FLORENCE BIENNALE

A Maori artist says she is taking her tipuna with her to Italy.

Mangatu artist Tawera Tahuri, says as a Maori artist she is honoured to have been chosen to attend the Florence Biennale contemporary art exhibition to be held in Florence in December, showing artwork based around her iwi.

Mana whenua slam Auckland exclusion

Tainui Chairman Tuku Morgan says National has kow towed to ACT which has just one percent of the popular vote and doesn't give a stuff about Maori aspiration, Maori economic development or the Treaty of Waitangi.

And Ngati whatua spokesperson Ngarimu Blair says he is not surprised by the government's decision which is typical of the way Maori are treated in Auckland and across the country.

He says among the protest options which Maori could consider is refusing to provide powhiri for the rugby world cup in 2011.

“At the forefront of the atmosphere they are trying to bring to the tournament and the atmosphere bring to the city is Maori and Pacific Island, yet we won’t be able to show the world in 2011 a united city, Maori and Pacific Island and Pakeha working together. It’s a big shame,” Mr Blair says.

He says legislation still has to go through parliament and hopefully the Maori party can have a victory when the issue goes before the house in September.

REPRESENTATION DENIAL PART OF PATTERN OF DISADVANTAGE

And Labour leader Phil Goff says the decision not to allow Maori separate seats on Auckland Super City comes on top of other government moves to disadvantage Maori.

Phil Goff in particular the government has failed to treat people fairly in terms of stimulating the economy and providing training for the unemployed.

He says already nearly 13 percent of Maori are unemployed.

“In terms of unemployment, Maori have been disadvantaged. In terms of the income taxes that have been brought in, Maori have been disadvantaged. If National goes ahead and lifts gst to 15 percent without making provision for low income people, again it will be Maori have been disadvantaged and all this in return for flying the flag over the Auckland Harbour Bridge,” one day a year,” Mr Goff says.

Hesays it is an uneven relationship and an unfair deal.

WEST COAST MAORI TACKLE PROBLEMS WITH TAI CHI

West Coast Maori are taking action to improve their health following a survey which identified problem areas.

“Arthritis was the highest disease around here so we started up tai chi classes around the rohe and nutrition, and looking at providing nutritious guidelines and we assisted them drawing up a healthy eating policy for the marae,” Ms Mahuika-Forsyth says.

COMMISSION FINDS MAORI TACKLING FAMILY VIOLENCE

The Families Commission is praising Maori for the manner in which they are addressing family violence.

Commissioner Kim Workman is urging people not to be despondent... despite figures released today showing a rise in family violence offences of more than 50 percent between 2001 and 2006... with Maori disproportionally represented.

He says it's crucial that we get an accurate picture of what's occurring around the country and believes that higher reporting of family violence crimes is behind the increase.

He says there's also been a lot of work done in the last few years that won't be reflected in the statistics yet.

“The thing that encourages me is the level in which Maori have got involved, both in becoming service providers and addressing whanau violence and in the whanau themselves taking action,” Mr Workman says.

The picture painted by the Family Violence Statistics Report will allow the government to see what programmes are working, and what's really making a difference.

The statistics were pulled together from information held by government departments, the police and other groups who work with whanau such as Women's Refuge, Age Concern and Plunket.

AUCKLAND COUNCIL DECISION DELAYING THE INEVITABLE

Tainui leader Tuku Morgan says the government's decision not to have Maori seats on Auckland super city council has simply delayed the inevitable with the browning of New Zealand.

Tuku Morgan says while he is bitterly disappointed with the decision by 2035 the majority of workers in New Zealand will be brown skinned and they will hold the power.

“Maori people will not be denied. We will grow our economic power in this country, because that’s what the Pakeha world is all about. It’s about materialism. It’s not about humanity now, and Maori will grow its economic power in this country and we will be real participants in the city. It does not matter where the super city turns, it will have to deal with commercial heavyweights like us,” Mr Morgan says.

He says inevitably Maori will have the opportunity to express their mana in a city which is their home.

TANGI FOR TUI ADAMS AT TOKANGANUI A NOHO

Hundreds of mourners continue to head to Tokanganui-a-Noho marae in Te Kuiti where Tutuatahi Tui Adams is lying in state.

The Tainui kaumatua was an expert on the tikanga of Waikato, Maniapoto, Hauraki and Raukawa tribal areas.

Maania Clarke, who covers the Tainui rohe for Waatea News says Dr Adams was exceptionally generous with his knowledge, teaching many others how to fulfil their duties on the paepae and other situations where tikanga was involved.

Maori health needs a low priority

August 25

The Labour Party says the government's decision not set up a working group to address pay disparities for Maori health workers shows they rate Maori health needs as a very low priority.

A working party made up of representatives from Maori and iwi service providers, the ministry of health, district health boards, and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation was recommended by a select committee, which included National MPs.

Labour Associate Health Spokesperson Iain Lees-Galloway says employers in the sector would love to pay staff the same rates as they could get working for a GP or hospital, but they simply do not have the funding available for them to do so.

“All they asked was that the government look at this, that they looked seriously at the issues behind it and to set up a working group, have a look at what the issues were and see if there were any way forward, and for the government to turn around and say no, we’re not even going to do that means seriously Maori and iwi health needs must be a very low priority to this government,” Mr Lees-Galloway says.

He says it’s not cheaper or easier to be a Maori provider, as their communities are harder to contact, more rural, and spread out geographically, and do not access primary healthcare as much as they need to.

HOUSING POLICY COULD BE OF SOME BENEFIT

Labour Maori MP Shane Jones has leant his support to the government's moves to help Maori get loans to build on multiple owned land.

Last week Housing Minister Phil Heatley announced that the government will underwrite such loans so that banks are not exposed to the risk of default where borrowers don’t own the land.

Shane Jones who was Labour's Building and Construction Minister says any government that makes advances on Maori housing has his support.

“The difficulty is access to capital so if the government is prepared to be the lender of last resort to get building taking place on whenua Maori, or whether or not it’s moving Keith Hay homes on to whenua Maori, it’s got to be good,” Mr Jones says.

Man Maori are moving back to provincial towns where the transition is difficult so having a modern home will help greatly.

IWI NEED TO FORM LANGUAGE LINKS WITH MAINSTREAM SCHOOLS

The Maori Language Commission is calling on Maori communities to build closer ties with mainstream schools to ensure their dialects don't get lost.

The Commission reported feedback from hui around the country yesterday as part of its efforts to develop a new Maori language strategy.

Chief executive Huhana Rokx says 80 percent of Maori students go to mainstream schools, and a lack of cohesion between iwi and their schools could lead to a more generic language being taught across the country.

How is the Maori language happening in schools sitting with the dialect into hose communities? Is the dialect being learned or the general Maori language being learned across all schools,” Ms Rokx says.

The loss of individual dialects would be a tragedy.

TURIA WANTS MAORI TO UNIT TO SALVAGE AUCKLAND SITUATION

Maori party co-leader Tariana Turia is calling on Auckland Maori leaders to get together and work out a strategy to look after Maori interests rather than letting the government determine how Maori will participate in the Super City governance.

In announcing that there will be no Maori seats on the Super City Council Prime Minister John Key said ACT leader Rodney Hide and fellow co-leader and Minister of Maori Affairs Pita Sharples would be working together to address Maori participation.

However Mrs Turia told Urban Maori Authorities that Maori should stop sitting around and waiting for the government to make decisions.

“The mana whenua groups and yourselves ought to get together to work out a way in which you can take care of the interests of the people in Auckland, the tangata whenua and the mana whenua, and work out a strategy that may be in your own interests rather than letting the governemnt or other determine how you will participate,” Mrs Turia says.

She says in threatening to resign if there were separate Maori seats Rodney Hide was not acting in Maori interest but his own political ambitions.

NURSES SLAM FAILURE TO ADDRSS HEALTH INEQUALITIES

And the government is being criticised for not treating Maori equally on another front.

One of the country's major unions representing nurses, the New Zealand Nurses Organisation has slammed the government for ignoring a select committee recommendation to set up a working party to address disparities between what health workers are paid when they work for Maori health providers and mainstream.

Chief executive Geoff Annals says there is no justification for providing Maori providers with less money to pay equal wages.

He says Maori and iwi providers have been effective in improving access for communities that are mainly Maori.

“That is such a fundamental issue that we have. We know that as a population group the health of Mori is poorer than any other ethnic group so we think they could hardly deny that the justice of the case and the importance of a skilled and able Maori health workforce to meet that challenge,” Mr Annals says.

The submission the nurses made nearly two years ago was unique as it involved a united approach by union members and their employers, and was a first in industrial relations.

MANUREWA MARAE WINS DIVERSITY AWARD

Manurewa Marae has won a national award for its outstanding contribution to race relations.

The South Auckland marae has been named as one of 12 recipients of the Human Rights Commission’s annual New Zealand Diversity Action Awards presented by the Governor-General in Wellington last night.

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres says what makes Manurewa Marae special is the way it provides for the areas various communities not just Maori.

One of the events at the marae organised in the past year was a special toanga day where people from many cultures brought their treasures to the marae.

Turia angry at super city seat denial

Monday August 24

Maori party co-leader Tariana Turia says the government is ignoring the democratic process in deciding there should be no Maori seats on Auckland super city.

Mrs Turia says Maori have never had equal citizenship and opportunity as agreed to in the Treaty of Waitangi because if voting had not been on individual land tile which ignores Maori collective ownership of land Maori would have had eight seats on the council since 1840.

She says the government has ignored democratic checks and balances such as the Royal Commission of Inquiry and the Select Committee which is due to report in two weeks.

“Why bother. Why go through all these checks and balances and have these processes in place, when in the end they still go and do what they want anyway. This is what happens to our people time and time again and we’re never surprised by it but you do get sick of it,” Mrs Turia says.

She says the government feared that if they let Act leader Rodney Hide resign because they allowed Maori seats they feared losing votes to Act at the next election.

WANANGA MOURNS LOSS OF KAUMATUA TUI ADAMS

Tainui continues to mourn the loss of one of their leaders.

Tuhuatahi Tui Adams was a reservoir of knowledge and an expert in the knowledge systems of Waikato, Maniapoto, Hauraki and Raukawa and was a kaumatua of Te Wananga o Aotearoa and senior tutor of Te Arataki Manu Korero programme to assist Tainui elders better understand Tainui tikanga and history.

Wananga ceo Bentham Ohia says Tui was a bedrock of support for Te Wananga o Aotearoa co-founder and Tumuaki Rongo Wetere and his loyalty and generosity would never be forgotten.

Tui Adams was a recipient of the Queen Services Medal in 2000 for services to the Maori community and in 2003 received an honorary doctorate from The University of Waikato.

He is lying at Tokanganui-a-Noho marae in Te Kuiti until his tangi on Wednesday,

GOVERNMENT REFUSES LOOK INTO LOW MAORI HEALTH PAY

The New Zealand Nurses’ Organisation is flabbergasted by the government's decision to ignore a unanimous recommendation by the Health Select Committee to establish a working party to address pay disparites for Maori.

Chief executive Geoff Annals says the refusal to explore why Maori health workers pay rates lag behind those at district health boards and in GP practices has exacerbated the original injustice committed by Labour.

“The Labour government put a lot of money into primary healthcare but the majority went into mainstream general practice and for whatever reason the money that went into Maori and iwi providers who are doing the same sort of work and arguably more difficult work, they get less funding,” Mr Annals says.

The submission made nearly two years ago was unique as it involved a united approach by union members and their employers, and was a first in industrial relations.

The select committee, including National Party members, agreed there was an equity issue and recommended a working group consisting of representatives from Maori and iwi service providers, the ministry of health, district health boards, and the New Zealand Nurses Organisation.

LANGUAGE COMMISSION PROMOTES INTER-GENERATIONAL REO

The Maori Language Commission says encouraging generations of whanau to speak Maori to each other in the home is the biggest step to ensuring the revival of te Reo Maori.

The commission hosted a forum in Wellington presenting feedback from its hui to iwi around the country to develop a new Maori Language strategy.

Chief Executive Huhana Rokx says intergenerational transmission was a key priority, getting families to use it as the language of the home.

The commission was focused on providing good access and ease of use of resources, as well as broadcaSting to help get Te Reo Maori into the home.

He says the government's decision t is the darkest day for race relations in New Zealand he can remember in more than 30 years in politics.

“It’s as bad as the bad times New Zealand had. It’s raupatu in the modern sense,” he says.

Mr Horomia says Prime Minister John Key’s statement that Pita Sharples and ACT leader Rodney Hide would be working together to work out the best way Maori can be represented is outright rubbish.

WHANGANUI MUSEUM WINS TOHU FOR IWI ENGAGEMENT

Whanganui Regional Museum has won a national award for its outstanding contribution to race relations.

The museum has been named as one of 12 recipients of the Human Rights Commission’s annual New Zealand Diversity Action Awards which were presented by the Governor-General at the New Zealand Diversity Forum in Wellington tonight.

Race Relations Commissioner Joris de Bres says what makes the Whanganui Regional Museum special is its unique partnership between tangata whenua and the wider community.

The museum's Te Pihi Mata, The Sacred Eye, exhibition opened in 2007 and displays photographs of Whanganui iwi taken by WHT Partington from 1892-1908.

When these ancestral photos were offered for sale by auction, their descendants negotiated to pay a six-figure sum to retrieve them.

Ngati Maniapoto kaumatua Tui Adams dies

Monday 24 August

The passing of Tainui kaumatua Tui Adams yesterday has been described as a huge loss to the Kingitanga, Maoridom and New Zealand.

Professor Jim Ritchie, who worked for more than 35 years with the chief spokesperson for first the late Maori queen Te Atairangikaahu and then her successor King Tuheitia, says Dr Adams is one of the last of a generation who learned their Maoritangi orally and kept alive the continuity of the old masters.

“Within Kingitangi he was so close an advisor that you couldn’t really separate the opinion of the tribe from him nor he from the opinion of the tribe. He was a great reader of people and then a great, very wise spokesperson for them,” Professor Ritchie says.

A director of Awaroa farms, Mr Te Aho met with trustees Friday afternoon to discuss their views on a Maori collective marketing strategy.

He agrees with Ngati Kahungunu chairman Ngahiwi Tomoana, who wants Maori primary producers to band together to market their products offshore.

CUTUREFEST WEEK IN CHRISTCHURCH

Over 3000 students will be performing at the Christchurch town hall this week for the 28th annual Christchurch Primary Schools Kapahaka and Cultural Festival.

Event Manager Ali Nauman says it’s a wonderful way for the children to celebrate their cultural heritage.

The week-long celebration is expecting over 8000 spectators, with about 60 school groups from the wider Canterbury areas participating..

TRADITIONS NEED TO BE PRIOR ART IN PATENT WORLD

Maori lawyers are calling on the government to give patent protection to sources of traditional knowledge.

This would make pharmaceutical companies that want to use traditionally plants acknowledge their source and gainMaori permission.Co- president of the Maori Law Society Damien Stone says they gained a reasonably positive reception last week when they made submissions to the parliamentary select committee looking at patent law reform.

“Kawakawa is a traditional Maori source of medicine and there is nothing at the moment in patent law to prevent someone from developing a product based on that traditional knowledge and seeking a patent, and in doing so they wouldn’t have to disclose they learned the underlying information from traditional knowledge basis,” Mr Stone says

The issue goes wider than patent law however internationally other countries are incorporating disclosure of origin and informed consent of the patent holder part of their laws.

Among them is that from friend, fellow Tainui advisor and self-described student Professor Jim Ritchie.

Professor Ritchie says with the passing of the chief spokesperson for the Kingitanga movement, the tribe, Maoridom and New Zealand have lost a person of great wisdom and guidance.

He says Dr Adams passing represents the end of a generation of people saturated in things Maori being replaced by a new generation who have their own attributes but not the old knowledge.

“He was a man of the greatest stature and his presence will be missed. He had a wonderful way of saying in very few sentences what needed to be said and he always struck a note that was appropriate for the occasion,” Professor Ritchie says.

He says in the nearly 40 years he worked and walked with Dr Adams he found himself in the presence of a person of great wisdom who bridged the generations.

WHAKATANE LOOKING AT OPEN ACCES COMUTER ROOM

A project to get Maori involved in technology is being launched in Whakatane next today.

With $2.8 million of government funding Te Whare Wananga o Awanuiarangi, Te Runanga o Ngati Awa and the Bay of Plenty Polytechnic have built a technology centre at the wananga they are calling Tech Pa.

Project leader Mark Laws says Tech Pa will give the community fast access to the internet and other multi-media computing activities such audio and video production.

He says it’s a way to get the community and gives children a place to come after school to learn how technology can further their education and careers.

Sharles sure South Australia leading the way in rehab

Bulletins August 21

A trip to South Australia has left Pita Sharples even more convinced his call for Maori focused prison rehabilitation centres is the right way to go.

The Associate Minster of Corrections who has just returned from Australia says he wanted to know how South Australia has maintained a steady prison population in recent years, of just on 4000 inmates, while in New Zealand the number has doubled.

He says the success is due to the South Australian prison delivery regime, where inmates can be moved between hard core, medium, low security and rehabilitation centres, depending on their behaviour.

He says the model of Maori focused prison rehabilitation centres would work in a similar way.

“What it showed me is our model will definitely work. It really is about whether my model can have a measure of autonomy so it can exist in its own criteria, and I know it will work,” Dr Sharples says.

TOURIST CHIEF AIMS TO RIDE OUT RECESSION

One of New Zealand's most successful Maori tourism operators says riding out the recession comes down to forward planning.

Mike Tamaki, a director of Tamaki Group Holdings which has ventures in Rotorua, Christchurch and pending in Manukau, says its important for Maori to think laterally during times of economic crisis.

He says the world is going to look entirely different for the global traveller in the next three years and Maori needed to make dynamic changes to be prepared.

Mike Tamaki says an example is his group setting up an interactive website called Global Storytellers to co-ordinate indigenous stories from around the world.

EXCUSES MADE FOR LOW PUBLICATION RATE BY MAORI ACADEMICS

The head of the union representing tertiary staff says there are good reason why Maori researchers are producing less than other academics.

A just out Ministry of Education report shows that in 2006 academics working in Maori research completed less than half the significant research of academics in other areas.

Union president Tom Ryan, says this was down do the high number of new Maori researchers with extensive community commitments.

“A high percentage of Maori academics are working n their own iwi areas or not too far away and they do have heavy commitments on a wide range of whanau and iwi organisations, far more so than the average academic, many of whom are international and have fewer local commitments,” he says.

Institutions and more experienced academics need to encourage and support Maori staff to develop their capacity.

The research shows that just 14 percent Maori research produced significant results compared to 32 percent of general research.